MTG Metagame Finance #29

Ravnica Allegiance has barely hit the stores, but I would say it’s already a hit. I didn’t do well at my first Prerelease but still had a lot of fun even though I went 0-2 with Simic splashing white. I ran it back again the next day because I still thought Simic was powerful and went 4-0 splashing white again.

Mark Rosewater posted on Twitter asking for some cool stories. I replied, “Got a chance to chat with a friend I haven’t seen in a while about projects and software development.” That’s Magic. Aside from that, the cards just seemed really cool to see and play with. And we’ve already seen some development with some of the new cards.

Anyhow, you’re probably here to read about some new info on cards. So let’s get right into it since there are some pretty interesting picks this week.

Article Series Main Focus Points

Cards that you should hold on to or pick up for tournaments if you need them before they rise in price. These cards are either seeing increased play in one or more formats, the supply is drying up, or they’re pretty far from the next reprint.

Cards that you should consider selling or trading away. Their prices are pretty much at the ceiling owing to inflation from speculation, reprint inevitability in the near future, a lull in tournament play, or some combination of these.

Another card to look at here is Soul-Scar Mage. I know Christopher Martin has been pretty high on this the past few months, since it just rotated out of Standard not too long ago. Feel free to hit him (@Chris Martin#5133) or me (edward.eng#4978) up in the Discord channel for further details.

Rod of Ruin – 7th Edition (Foil)

There aren’t any decks really using this and it doesn’t see that much play in EDH/Commander. But I picked this up just for fun because it was cheap, and 7th Edition foils are pretty hard to come by. All the other playables are very expensive. If Wizards ever reprints this as a common, it could skyrocket if it sees play in Pauper. For more on old foils, check out Sigmund Ausfresser’s article.

I don’t know if it’ll make the cut in non-Standard compared to Depose // Deploy or Incubation // Incongruity. But it’ll definitely see play in Standard since it does a good job of enabling spectacle for only one mana.

Whisper Agent – Guilds of Ravnica (Foil)

I don’t know if this will ever see play in Pauper or Modern, but I wouldn’t dismiss it. A 3/2 hybrid creature with two abilities is pretty nice. It’s also a Human. This also plays well with the devotion mechanic if that ever comes back. Anyways, like Rod of Ruin mentioned above, this was mostly just a “fun” purchase.

Light Up the Stage – FNM Promos

Purchased Price
$3.38

A friend of mine has already said this card is pretty powerful in Standard. And I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitter talking about testing it. Red seems to be pretty powerful in Standard again owing to cards like Judith, the Scourge Diva and Skewer the Critics.

People have been trying it in Modern too. I’m not so sure if it’s good enough for Modern yet, but we’ll see. This definitely puts cards like Gut Shot into the spotlight more, which already sees a lot more play in Modern thanks to all the Arclight Phoenix builds.

Bottle Gnomes – FNM Promos

This is another interesting one but might be a little more tangible since a lot of people are talking about Electrodominance, including Gabriel Nassif. He’s been trying to break Izzet Living End in Modern. He got a trophy on Magic Online with the deck. But then he went 0-3 in a Modern Challenge, so we’re not sure if the deck is really any good yet.

So this is just another ‘fun’ buy. But it’s the only foil version with the original artwork. And you can play it in Premodern.

Flame Slash – Conspiracy: Take the Crown (Foil)

This is starting to see a lot more play in Phoenix decks in Modern as a one-mana answer to cards like Thing in the Ice. While Lightning Bolt might be the best all-around card in Modern, four-toughness creatures are where it’s at now in the format because Bolt is so ubiquitous.

Public Spreadsheet

Stay up to the minute on what I’m looking at on a daily basis via the MTG Metagame Finance Spreadsheet. Don’t forget to bookmark it, because I update it on the fly. This way you can see what’s going on as the market moves and before articles about certain cards are published.

Revisits

Public Spreadsheet

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Agree? Disagree? Why? You can also connect with me on Twitter at @edwardeng. I’m also open to suggestions on how to make this series more valuable. Hit me up.

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